Action Comics #34 spoiler/discussion thread

[Superlad93]

So this is far and away my favorite issue of the week. Big action, big ideas, and big emotions. This is Superman comics. With this issue Pak has brought me back in and reminded me why he's one of my favorite writers in comics today. I hope he never lets me forget ever again!

Few of my favorites:

-Superman is the man with the plan. It's slightly crazy, a little simple, and brilliant all at the same time. That is a Superman plan, and that's how Superman thinks if you ask me. The moment that really got me though we before the plan when Batman falls silent and Superman knows everyone is looking at him. That moment and the moment after where he stutters a little before speaking tells me everything I need to know and the inner thoughts simply enhance it all. It was so great so perfect and reminded me of who this young man was and will be.

-The ghost solder attack! This reminded me of that part in Morrison's JLA when the whole earth got Superman's powers and flew into space to fight. Also Damian's here!!!! Did you spot him?



-Steel and Lana are so great! Pak really just took two of my favorite character's in DC right now and said "well let's just make Superlad happy!". To that I say I am very happy Mr Pak, very happy indeed.

-Superman and MM showing some muscle! I mean man did you see the size of that thing? And these guys pulled it off.

-Lastly Superman just being Superman again. When he comes back it's like one big light switch has been flicked on the world. You feel better (I felt better). I really liked how they were prioritizing where to put him. Just really great stuff and really made me feel the rush and urgency even though Superman was there to save everything.


As always, in Pak we trust!

[Auguste Dupin]

He's baaaaaaaaccccckkkkk.
Really liked it. It's crazy, fun and over the top, basically throwing every thing it can think of at you: armies of ghost, the Justice LeagueS, Steel and Lana, Lois, Baka (my god, thank you for coming back, Baka, you silly named you), Mongul....I get the feeling the whole story is about to end in one insane 4 way brawl. And yet, it manages to find small emotional moments in there, which makes the whole thing feel believable, if not real.
Superman is back to being his awesome self, coming up with crazy plans and doing badass stuff. And the art is my favourite is comics right now.
Seriously, maybe it's just me, but I get the feeling that Pak's scripts are actually much better when Kuder is involved in the art. Add the fact the guy has written a very good Superboy so far, and I'm starting to think he has a bigger impact on the story than we think.
So, long story short, AC is , once more, the best Superman book available right now.

[Sacred Knight]

I didn't notice Damian till you pointed it out. Awesome shout-out. Sit tight kid, you won't be a ghost for long.

[DochaDocha]

Yeah, this was my favorite of the "Doomed" stories that came out this Wednesday. It was great how they incorporated all the old story lines in here. I say, if you're going to tell one crazy, ambitious story like "Doomed," these are the sort of things you have to do.

I did happen to notice two typos, though: "to" instead of "too," and "Cybrog." As a result of these mistakes, the book is terrible and should be shunned...

[Sacred Knight]

Baka needs to be given a costume of some kind. A keepsake from Superman, be it a little cape or the 90s Superboy jacket.

[Mr. Mastermind]

When Kuder leaves Action he needs to draw Batman and Robin (with a writer not named Peter Tomasi). His work here is probably the best Superman's had since Quietly.

[K. Jones]

Doomed is an interesting story. I mean I intended to only read Action and see how well the crossover read if you only read the Action portions. Somewhere along the way ... that got blown out of the water. Like, maybe because Soule's SS/WW has been pretty good I got sucked into those chapters, too, and the other tie-in issues were less extensive?

So it's got a lot. I mean they really pack it in, for good or bad. I like the unification and turnover of a whole bunch of previous New 52 Superman storylines. Red Supergirl? Check. Pak's Ghost stuff? Check. Lobdell's Lois/Brainiac weirdness? Sure. Soule's WW developments? Yep, well, everything but Greek gods. SOME Morrison elements (because how could you ever fit them all ...)

Pascal Alixe art turned up in the Annuals - it never occurred to me until recently but his Villain's Month Brainiac issue with Bedard was effing gorgeous so he was ideal to come back and center on some Brainiac invading action (part of me hopes he gets to do some proper Vril Dox showdown this month).

Multiple big bads ... it's not the most focused thing ever, but it at least keeps their plates spinning in a way where you're like "okay, how's Mongul going to factor? Where's Phantom King turning up?"

The Justice League all-out, almost like pre-Flashpoint unified League. Who cares if they never explained J'onn J'onzz's "betrayal" of the Justice League? Seeing all the big guns together ... with Luthor among them ... feels old-school.

Lana/Steel. I'll ship that.

Baka!

So if there's a little bloat, I think depending on how clear-cut and tight the ending is, I'll forgive it. Hopefully Brainiac is imposing as all get-out. Kuder is still a gem.

I'm very eager to see all the Super-books clearly defined and telling their own stories again, and for that matter, for Bedard to join back in with Supergirl - I very much enjoyed her time with the Reds, in Lantern-land, but now it's time for a bit of Super-family.

[Xarek]

Man... I don't know... I really really didn't like the issue. Don't get me wrong. There are good moments. Superman actually leading and acting intelligently being one. But this is not one of Pak's best. Not by a long shot. For one the plot is incredibly silly and full of plot holes. The Kryptonite cloud being down doesn't necessarily mean that Superman is cured, and yet Pak forgets why the cloud was put up in the first place and has Superman act like everything is 100% ok. Baka's place in the story is a heavy handed attempt to deliver a message of belief and courage that, at this point in Doomed, is already overkill. Brainiac's Stargate and Starship are just mcguffins that are trite as hell (another portal??). For such an advanced A.I. this plan turns out into something too simple. All the subterfuge at the beginning (Lois Lane's manipulation, Superman's Doomsday virus infection, Cyborg Superman) that offered some mystery to the story is rendered pointless with Brainiac's "true plan" of assimilation.

Then there is Lois Lane. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a Lois Lane focused story but this time it reaches preposterous levels. The psychic powers she didn't posses with Brainiac, she now possesses tenfold! She can feel, see, everything!!! She can give Martian Manhunter a run for his money, how convenient. "... burned away the control bots... but still got enough telepathic power to resist him", "John Corben... we are working with Superman now". How nice. A nice Deus Ex Machina for the good guys. Why did Brainiac control Lois again? My mind flashes back to the Man of Steel film (Why did Zod want Lois in that ship again?), becaaaause comics!!! Lois Lane plot device at your service. Lazy, lazy writing. I understand the intent, but the execution is severely lacking.

Another character that deserved better in this story is Wonder Woman. Greg forgets about her in the Annual and here he decides to introduce her in the most unceremonious way possible. Like he remembered she was in the crossover at the last minute. Superman merely appears bemused. Wonder Woman suddenly appears, hugs Lois Lane for no reason (with a glorifying "I know what you've endured" dialogue to boot), kisses SM, lifts a power array and that's all she wrote. Red Hood got more screen time and he was inconsequential!!

The only real repercussion that Doomed offered us in this issue is the release of another two dangerous enemies (Mongul and Non). But with the series nearing its end, that might not be enough to save it.

[Auguste Dupin]

Man... I don't know... I really really didn't like the issue. Don't get me wrong. There are good moments. Superman actually leading and acting intelligently being one. But this is not one of Pak's best. Not by a long shot. For one the plot is incredibly silly and full of plot holes. The Kryptonite cloud being down doesn't necessarily mean that Superman is cured, and yet Pak forgets why the cloud was put up in the first place and has Superman act like everything is 100% ok. Baka's place in the story is a heavy handed attempt to deliver a message of belief and courage that, at this point in Doomed, is already overkill. Brainiac's Stargate and Starship are just mcguffins that are trite as hell (another portal??). For such an advanced A.I. this plan turns out into something too simple. All the subterfuge at the beginning (Lois Lane's manipulation, Superman's Doomsday virus infection, Cyborg Superman) that offered some mystery to the story is rendered pointless with Brainiac's "true plan" of assimilation.

Then there is Lois Lane. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a Lois Lane focused story but this time it reaches preposterous levels. The psychic powers she didn't posses with Brainiac, she now possesses tenfold! She can feel, see, everything!!! She can give Martian Manhunter a run for his money, how convenient. "... burned away the control bots... but still got enough telepathic power to resist him", "John Corben... we are working with Superman now". How nice. A nice Deus Ex Machina for the good guys. Why did Brainiac control Lois again? My mind flashes back to the Man of Steel film (Why did Zod want Lois in that ship again?), becaaaause comics!!! Lois Lane plot device at your service. Lazy, lazy writing. I understand the intent, but the execution is severely lacking.

Another character that deserved better in this story is Wonder Woman. Greg forgets about her in the Annual and here he decides to introduce her in the most unceremonious way possible. Like he remembered she was in the crossover at the last minute. Superman merely appears bemused. Wonder Woman suddenly appears, hugs Lois Lane for no reason (with a glorifying "I know what you've endured" dialogue to boot), kisses SM, lifts a power array and that's all she wrote. Red Hood got more screen time and he was inconsequential!!

The only real repercussion that Doomed offered us in this issue is the release of another two dangerous enemies (Mongul and Non). But with the series nearing its end, that might not be enough to save it.

Okay....in order:

-That was in the annual, I believe.Baka's role here is to be an ally of Superman and someone he has to save.
-What do you mean? She has the same powers she had before.
-Considering she's the one who raised him back to life, and the fact he was manipulated using the feeling he had for her, I don't see why it's "convenient" that he would change sides when she does.If anything, that sounds logical, if a bit cold of Lois. Plus, I think that was the annual too.
-Because she was investigating the story of the Twenty, the people who disapeared after Brainiac's first attack on Metropolis, which was the first part of Brainiac's current plan. These people were given psychic powers to serve Brainiac, but it was too much for them and they were dying one by one. One of them gave his powers to Lois in his dying breath, which lead to her being subject to Brainiac's manipulations (that, plus the fact she had them recently enough she was of no danger of dying). So, long story short,the very first hints of the attack started with Lois' investigations, so it's not quite as convenient as you put it.

[manduck37]

What I love most about this issue (and the annuals) is that we get some huge acknowledgement that Superman is the #1 superhero. All of Earth's heroes are gathered together to fight off Braniac and they all say the same thing "we need Superman, he's the only one who can do this". Even Batman says it. In a crisis of this scale, the world needs Superman or it's lost. That's so freaking cool. It's Superman's plans that go into action. The world truly needs him.

[misslane]

Then there is Lois Lane. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a Lois Lane focused story but this time it reaches preposterous levels. The psychic powers she didn't posses with Brainiac, she now possesses tenfold! She can feel, see, everything!!! She can give Martian Manhunter a run for his money, how convenient. "

Lois had psionic powers this strong back when she fought Pscyho Pirate. She had the powers while being used by Brainiac, but she was obviously using them to do his bidding rather than her own. He clearly would only allow her access to whatever amount of power he wanted her to have to serve his will. But Lois definitely had powers that strong before.

"John Corben... we are working with Superman now". How nice. A nice Deus Ex Machina for the good guys.

Corben would do anything for Lois, mind control or not, so it's no different than Superman fighting alongside Krypto.

Why did Brainiac control Lois again?

Because she was in an ideal position to work against Superman without arousing suspicion. Her father was connected to The Tower and the government, and her ex-boyfriend was a kryptonite-powered lunatic. Lois' connections really benefited Brainiac.

My mind flashes back to the Man of Steel film (Why did Zod want Lois in that ship again?), becaaaause comics!!!

Perhaps you need to rewatch the film. It clearly spells out that the reason Lois was taken to the ship was so that her mind could be probed for information on the codex. In fact, it was only through probing Lois' mind that Zod found out about Kal's spaceship in Smallville. Zod knew Lois had investigated Kal, and decided her mind would provide easy access to the information he required.

Lois Lane plot device at your service. Lazy, lazy writing. I understand the intent, but the execution is severely lacking.

It wasn't.

Wonder Woman suddenly appears, hugs Lois Lane for no reason (with a glorifying "I know what you've endured" dialogue to boot)

Wonder Woman hugs Lois Lane because she's happy to see that she's okay. She hugs her because she's a warm and compassionate person who is also pleased her boyfriend's friend is safe. For Wonder Woman to remark about what Lois endured, is her attempt at being empathetic. She's not glorifying her. It's sad beyond belief that you've managed to turn a moment of humanity between two women into something negative.

[Blacksun]

Wonder Woman hugs Lois Lane because she's happy to see that she's okay. She hugs her because she's a warm and compassionate person who is also pleased her boyfriend's friend is safe. For Wonder Woman to remark about what Lois endured, is her attempt at being empathetic. She's not glorifying her. It's sad beyond belief that you've managed to turn a moment of humanity between two women into something negative.

Now WW knows what Lois endured? wow WW you are so perceptive...the hug still felt of place and not sincere. But I really didn't liked that when WW and SM kissed Lois make a unhappy face. I know it is gross, but she should be happy for them.

What I love most about this issue (and the annuals) is that we get some huge acknowledgement that Superman is the #1 superhero. All of Earth's heroes are gathered together to fight off Braniac and they all say the same thing "we need Superman, he's the only one who can do this". Even Batman says it. In a crisis of this scale, the world needs Superman or it's lost. That's so freaking cool. It's Superman's plans that go into action. The world truly needs him.

Superman is the #1 hero? in new 52 it doesn't feel like it. It's the show don't tell

[misslane]

Now WW knows what Lois endured? wow WW you are so perceptive...the hug still felt of place and not sincere. But I really didn't liked that when WW and SM kissed Lois make a unhappy face. I know it is gross, but she should be happy for them.

What didn't feel right to me about the scene was it conflicted somewhat with what Soule wrote in Superman/Wonder Woman #10. In that issue, Wonder Woman presumably already knew that Lois was enduring something awful; yet she treated her coarsely. So only acknowledging and sympathizing with Lois' struggles and pain after the fact makes Diana seem kind of cold. Add to that the reminder right before that the last time she and Lois met, she (by her own admission) tried to kill Lois, and the fact that Wonder Woman just escaped killing Superman, and both have the unfortunate effect of undermining the compassionate tone Pak seems to want to convey for Diana.

The unhappy face in the presence of the SM/WW kiss was totally unnecessary and felt out of character for Lois.

[DochaDocha]

What I love most about this issue (and the annuals) is that we get some huge acknowledgement that Superman is the #1 superhero. All of Earth's heroes are gathered together to fight off Braniac and they all say the same thing "we need Superman, he's the only one who can do this". Even Batman says it. In a crisis of this scale, the world needs Superman or it's lost. That's so freaking cool. It's Superman's plans that go into action. The world truly needs him.

Yeah, that's part of the appeal to this issue for me.

And sneaking in Damian is all sorts of sneaky-cool.

[Blacksun]

What didn't feel right to me about the scene was it conflicted somewhat with what Soule wrote in Superman/Wonder Woman #10. In that issue, Wonder Woman presumably already knew that Lois was enduring something awful; yet she treated her coarsely. So only acknowledging and sympathizing with Lois' struggles and pain after the fact makes Diana seem kind of cold. Add to that the reminder right before that the last time she and Lois met, she (by her own admission) tried to kill Lois, and the fact that Wonder Woman just escaped killing Superman, and both have the unfortunate effect of undermining the compassionate tone Pak seems to want to convey for Diana.

The unhappy face in the presence of the SM/WW kiss was totally unnecessary and felt out of character for Lois.

damn WW tried to kill Lois and clark, it's a meta for editorial trying to kill clois? lol
it felt out of nowhere the hug, even lois was surprised. From soule to pak WW do a 180º for a better character. this isn't definately a concise story